Range scrap

Brad

Benevolent Overlord and site owner
Staff member
My wife has been after me to melt down some of the range scrap I have in the garage. I was approaching a 6th five gallon bucket full.
Spent about 3 hours today melting down 2 buckets and doing some general cleaning in the garage.
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This is the last pot melting. I figure I started with 350-375 pounds of scrap. Should yield about 50 pounds of jackets, 25 pounds dirt, and around 300 pounds clean alloy.

Once it all cools I will weigh the ingots and move it in buckets to the bin under my casting bench.

I can easily gather 2 buckets a year. That will keep me going for the foreseeable future. I have come to appreciate a 45 shooter.
 

Brad

Benevolent Overlord and site owner
Staff member
I humbly apologize Rick. :)

I lost those 2 pounds in the dirt I skimmed off. It isn't worth trying to recover the little bits of lead I find in the skimmed crap. A loss rate of 1% is certainly acceptable with free scrap.

Maybe I should have fluxes with beeswax?:rolleyes:
 

Roger Allen

Active Member
Right on for the report. The only way my tight self justifies going to a public range and shooting 2 lbs of bullets is to go early enough and collect range bullets (30 lbs of picking off the top of the dirt). This gave me a idea of how much to expect
 

Brad

Benevolent Overlord and site owner
Staff member
I figure on a 75% recovery rate. That is largely due to jackets. I don't pick up many bullets when it is muddy because I don't want the mud. I like dry, dusty berms.

I will give the jackets to a friend who does some scrapping. He has brought me a bit of lead. My only rule is that he put the money towards his kids college fund.